Eugene brings up a very good point about Vista, and this is increasingly
becoming a serious issue. I bought a new Toshiba laptop last December and it
came with Vista pre-installed. I knew I was going to reinstall with XP, but
I wish I had done a little homework on the model prior to purchasing it. I
literally spent two weeks tracking down all of the appropriate device
drivers that would work to get this thing up and running on XP. I have since
made very careful backups of all those drivers should I need to reinstall
the OS in the future.
I was able to get everything to work well because I am an expert with
several years of experience in this type of process. I shudder to think what
someone who knew little about these processes would have to go through to
get everything to working.
Hence, my recommendation would be to find out what the required specs are,
and then find a system online using a configurator that allows you to select
the operating system YOU want installed. The top brands for reliability,
imho, are Dell, IBM, and Toshiba. Once upon a time I would have added
Gateway to that list, but in all honesty, I haven't had enough experience
with them since Acer purchased them to be able to report on their
reliability. I realize other list members will not agree with my list, which
is fine. Please understand this is just one persons opinion.
Dell has the best configuration options online that I've seen. I have
purchased several systems going through their process and their prices are
really incredibly reasonable.
The other option is to go with a used system that already has XP on it. A
"previously loved" system will help with the pocketbook and you can get one
that is only six months to a year old that is pretty top-o-the-line type of
stuff for a very reasonable price. The laptop I purchased is an incredibly
nice dual-core 3GHz system with 2GB RAM, a 200GB hard drive, a hi-def DVD
burner, and a beautiful 15.4" wide screen true-bright screen with a built-in
1.3 megapixle webcam. I get about 2.5 hours out of the battery and it is one
of the best machines I've ever owned (minus the XP driver headache). If I
were to try and turn this system around right now I would only be able to
get about $450 to $500 out of it. Three years ago a comparable system would
have commanded $1,500 to $1,800 used, and about $2,400 new.
Good luck.
Cheers!
Kyle Elmblade
On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 1:53 AM, Eugene Khayutin <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> Many schools do not support Vista. I would recommend you contacted your
> son's college and ask them. In addition, a number of schools publish
> recommended specs on the web.
>
> E.
> Reggkay wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> I have been away from computers for around 4 years and I know in that time
>> things have changed greatly. My son is needing a laptop for college this
>> year and he also wants to be able to play some games on it. Could someone
>> recommend the specs that I should be looking for when I'm shopping? Also,
>> does anyone know of any good deals out there on computers?
>> Me and my pocket book thank you in advance for your help.
>> Regina Long
>> Sapulpa, Oklahoma
>>
>> Visit our website regularly for FAQs,
>> articles, how-to's, tech tips and much more
>> http://freepctech.com
>>
>
> Visit our website regularly for FAQs,
> articles, how-to's, tech tips and much more
> http://freepctech.com
>
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